I know it's a little ridiculous in the fast-paced internet world we live in to post recaps five days after the episode airs, but (A) I sadly do not work for the A.V. Club or anywhere else whose writers get screeners so they can post their recaps as soon as it airs and (B) these last episodes of The Office and Parks & Recreation were so good that I wanted to draw out our goodbyes for as long as possible. And now, the time has come.
The Office
Firstly, how awesome is that picture? Hooray for ensemble casts! After the abhorrent mistake that was Deangelo Vickers, it was nice to see that The Office can handle itself without Michael Scott or any other misguided celebrity vanity projects (seriously, there was an NPR piece and Will Ferrell was all, yeah, I called them up to see if I could be on the show! And so they wrote this whole character for me! NOBODY CARES, Farrell. Stick with movies, please.). I mean, there are so many amazing characters, I don't think it should be that hard to manage. The first (and best) answer? Creed.
Now, Creed has been my favorite Office character for awhile (from the season 3 Christmas episode deleted scenes: "I don't care which party I go to. Once you've danced naked at a hash bonfire with the spirits of the dead, all parties seem pretty much the same."), and I thought giving him a leading role was a brilliant move. The scenes between him and Pam were some of the most fun I've had all season. Creed is great because he's a loose cannon; he can say or do anything and maintain character plausibility because his character is NUTS. So right off the bat we were off to a good start.
The rest of the episode was mostly the search committee interviews, with some weird, flimsy Andy and Erin plot mixed in (they really didn't handle that too well, did they? Since when has Andy been over her?). I enjoyed most of the cameos - Will Arnett was wonderful, por supuesto, Warren Buffet was ok, James Spader was James Spader, but my favorite was probably Ray Romano, which is interesting because Everybody Loves Raymond is one of my least favorite television shows of all time. Regardless, he nailed his guest spot. Jim Carrey was also an unexpectedly nice little blip (although that dude is NOT aging well), but Ricky Gervais would've been more fun if we hadn't just seen him a few episodes ago. I thought the British woman was pretty hilarious but I really, really don't want her to come back. I can only take that kind of comedy in very small doses.
Let's see, what else is there? Dwight's persistence was endearing. Darryl's lack of interview skills made sense given that he's been at the same job for so long, but I really wanted Darryl to get the job. Kelly rocks. And speaking of Kelly, I love that she got Gabe sent away. Gabe was the worst, and I was wondering when he was gonna get called out for his completely unprofessional behavior. I mean, this is The Office, but it's still an office.
Oh, right, and Angela got engaged. This is a story that has been building quietly and slowly for a long time now, with everyone agreeing that Horn-Rimmed Glasses from Heroes is a gaymo except Angela, who just thinks he's a gentleman with a close relationship to his aide. It's a gag that would work better if we saw more of HRG in person, instead of just in pictures where he's frolicking on the beach with dudes. It did make for one of my favorite Ryan jokes in a while, though: "He 'Liked' my Facebook photos at 3 am."
They managed to end it on a pretty great cliffhanger (who's gonna be manager next year?) but, truth be told, I don't really care too much. As long as there's still plenty of Creed, I'll be coming back for more.
Some pretty great Notes & Quotes:
- “Keep it running”
- “Do I love being manager? I love my kids, I love real estate, I love ceramics, I love my job, I love wrestling”
- “Ok, team building: on this side of the room: Stanley, Phyllis, Jim, Ted, Elroy. On this side of the room: Pam, Meredith, Phyllis, Creed...”
- “Andy For Manager?”
- “Did you know that Gabe's last name was Lewis?”
-“I'm sure I was just another Porky's baby”
- “Bread is the paper of the food industry. You write your sandwich on it.”
- “Don't eat any berries you don't recognize”
- James Spader officially wins the Dundie for Creepest Dude Ever. Also, looked a little like Darryl Hammond doing a James Spader impersonation.
- “I'm gonna die here.”
- “He took me to the replica of Monet's Japanese bridge, and then he put this flower behind my ear, which normally I would hate because it's so civil rights-y, then he got down on one knee and said, “Will you be The Senator's wife?”
- “As a gay man, I'm horrified...as a friend of Angela's: horrified. As a lover of elegant weddings – I'm a little excited. But overall, horrified.”
- “If I'm being objective, then Darryl, OF COURSE.”
- “SHUT UP ABOUT THE SUN!”
- “What are your weaknesses?”
“I don't have any, asshole!”
- I initially thought Dwight told Jim: “I will guarantee you your dream Orc life”
Parks & Recreation
I think we can all agree that it was a little strange and disappointing to have four Parks & Rec episodes squished into two weeks. Not bad in any way, just that it's one of my favorite shows and I like to savor it. Thankfully though it'll be back next year for a full season, so there's that to look forward to. Anyway, I just went back and watched "The Bubble" and "Li'l Sebastian" and it made sense why those two shows, at least, were aired together.
"The Bubble" is about Leslie and Ben trying to maintain the fun beginning part of a relationship, before things like weird flossing habits start to intrude on the idyllic paradise of new love. This reaches a stumbling block when Ben has a meeting with Leslie's mother - notorious ball-buster, bully, and lover of Calvin & Hobbes. They're forced to confront and confirm the fact that they're dating and although Marlene seems tickled by it, the bubble has begun its prolonged pop.
Skipping ahead a bit - I promise I'll go back in a minute - at the end of "Li'l Sebastian", we find out that Leslie is being recruited to run for city council, obviously a life-long dream for her. But, if she wants to be on the council, she can't have any skeletons rattling around in her hoarder's closet, AKA Ben. So, who knows what's next for the World's Most Adorable Fictional Couple since April and Andy? And then I realized that "The Bubble" wasn't just for Leslie and Ben. It was a chance for the audience to savor the joy of this new, uncomplicated relationship before the real world intruded. It gave us time to fall in love with them as a couple before hitting us with this terrible decision that must be made. Will Leslie break it off with him? She can't! Will she carry on a secret relationship and get discovered and not elected? I hope not! As far as I can see, their best chance is to petition Chris to change the rule - and maybe he will, so he can get all up on Ann Perkins again. Anyway, "The Bubble" did its job - Leslie and Ben are too adorable for words, and everyone who watches this show is going to want to see them together. But we'll have to wait and find out what kind of adventures will take them there.
Moving on to everyone else, who all had awesome storylines in both episodes. Let's see. In "The Bubble", Chris is trying to get all high-tech and efficient, so he reorganizes the department. Any time we get to see the fourth floor is a treat, but I loved the juxtaposition of Tom, who can't even charm the old ladies who work there, and Andy, who has enough presence of mind to recognize that a year ago he was living in a pit and now he has a job and a wife and a phone, even if it does smell like a butt. Ron in the swivel desk gave Nick Offerman a chance to do what he does best: minimal physical comedy. Physical comedy doesn't all have to be like Scrubs, with people running into things and falling down all the time. It can be as simple as maintaining a hilariously apathetic expression and swiveling in a chair. You don't even have to swivel if you don't want to.
"Li'l Sebastian" was a wonderful show that gave everyone a great storyline. Tom and Jean Ralphio got to do what Tom and Jean Ralphio do (I predict that next year will find Tom back at Parks & Rec after 7wenty spends all their money on Detlef Schrempf). Jerry ruined everything, even by proxy with his dumb Italian poem.
April and Andy make a great manager/artist team, and I loved "5,000 Candles In The Wind". Chris had a perfect storyline about facing his own mortality after being diagnosed with tendinitis, that seemed to end with him resuming interest in our girl Ann. But the real star of the episode (and not just because he's my one true love) was Ron Swanson. Starting with his monologue about the flag, continuing with the wall-sized Sebastian poster, culminating in his speech about only crying twice, and then he burned his face off. "Are you mad at me? Without your eyebrows I can't tell." And, AND, not only did we get the little treat of Megan Mullally at the end, we also get the promise of Tammy 1, coming next season! I. Cannot. Wait. Ron Swanson 4 LIFE!
So, basically, I love this show like whoa. You all know that, and if you don't, you can read all about it here. There's not a bad character in the group, or, for that matter, a bad actor. Everyone is amazingly hilarious and the cast has incredibly strong chemistry. I am so eagerly anticipating the next season, I want it to start RIGHT NOW! But instead I'll go eat some waffles (in honor of Leslie Knope) while I watch Party Down (in honor of Adam Scott's face). May I suggest you do the same?
Notes 'n' Quotes!
"The Bubble"
- "Gases fill the volume of whatever container they're in. - School."
- "Just white wine, cuddling, and crazy amounts of...History Channel documentaries."
- "She's Filipino."
- "Jerry: I believe you are capable of much more."
"I'm not."
- "I did recently sell my Chronicles Of Riddick dvd on Ebay for ten dollars - used the profits to buy the Blu-Ray."
- “I wasn't super paying attention to what you said we would be doing, but I will give 110%! As soon as you repeat yourself...in a more interesting way.”
- "Tiny swivel!"
- "What about my office and its many walls?"
- "At one point for no reason I just took off my shoes and held them in my hand."
- MEMO: You are going to fail.
- “There's a sign at Ramsett park that says 'Do not drink the sprinkler water', so I made some tea with it and now I have an infection.” AHAHAHA this is my favorite scene.
- "You know who April hates? Everyone."
_____
"Li'l Sebastian"
- "Do you wanna get run over? 'Cause I know a guy."
- "You gotta stop screaming."
"I know, I get excited."
- "Half mast is too high. Show some damn respect."
- Leslie and Ben's flustered excuse-vomit upon being discovered by Ron was priceless. "I've never had sex with anyone anywhere!"
- As were the gross historical role-playing sex games! Only the two of them could do that and not make it seem repugnant. "Please tell me you hung up before Ruth Bader Ginsberg."
- "I have only cried twice in my life. The first time was when I was seven and was hit by a school bus."
- "Does the carpet match the face?"
*SOB* Well, that's it for these recaps for the next FOUR months. Don't worry, I've got plenty to write about this summer, but I'm definitely going to miss my Thursday night compadres. See you guys at the Harvest Festival!
Images via Paste Magazine, FansManiac, Review8, HitFix, TV.com, Watch Streaming Online, SpoilerTV, CharacterGrades, CliqueClack
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